The subject matter disclosed herein relates to a vehicle suspension system and, more particularly, to a vehicle suspension mount assembly and a method of mounting a subframe to a frame of a vehicle.
Vehicle performance may have a significant impact on an operator's perceived value and experience. The configuration or geometry of the vehicle suspension system can have a significant effect on the overall dynamic performance of the vehicle. The mechanism for mounting the suspension system to the frame of the vehicle is one variable that can change the available geometries and the ability to mount components to the vehicle frame.
In many conventional vehicles, the suspension system is mounted directly to the vehicle frame. Alternatively, at least some known suspension systems are coupled to a subframe which is then mounted to the vehicle frame. In addition to the geometry of a particular suspension system, the stiffness and the weight of the mounting technique may play an important role in determining the performance of a vehicle. The stiffness and the weight of the mounting mechanism are factors that may be controlled along with the system geometry to increase the vehicle performance.
A suspension mount assembly for a vehicle suspension system that increases the available suspension geometries and provides flexibility in arranging the suspension system components, as well as decreasing the weight of the vehicle suspension system and maintaining or increasing the desired lateral stiffness and/or vertical stiffness of the suspension system is desired.